Baltimore County Public Schools has made a commitment to staff all school library media centers with qualified library media personnel. To address the demand for school library media professionals and the challenges of the National Standards for School Library Media Programs: Information Power I: Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning and Information Power II: Building Partnerships for Learning, the cohort is designed to enhance knowledge and competencies to meet these new challenges while earning a Master of Science in Instructional Technology, School Library Media degree. Of critical importance is the preparation for successful implmentation of the Baltimore County Public Schools' Library Media Curriculum, Grades 1-5 and the K-12 Online Research Models that are aligned with the Maryland State Department of Education School Library Media Curriculum,and the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Successful implementation of these curricula, instructional support to faculty and staff, and information and technology integration are performed by library media personnel who have attained competencies in a highly specialized educational program in teaching and learning, information technologies and literacy, instructional design and support, and resource management. The constant changes in information technologies demand that library media professionals continually renew, sharpen, and master new skills inherent in the Information and Communication Age.
The School Library Media Cohort is designed to address the critical shortage of school library media specialists in Maryland. Candidates are MSDE certified teachers who have completed either a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science degree and are highly motivated to enter a challenging graduate program at Towson University to qualify as a school library media specialist. The School Library Media Cohort requires a part-time commitment to acquire 36 required and 6 elective graduate credits in the Master of Science in Instructional Technology, School Library Media program of study. The graduate program is approved by the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification (NASDTEC).
Graduates are qualified to direct library media programs in K-12 schools and serve as a member of a large media center or system level media program. The school library media specialist is the keystone of a student-centered library media program where students learn and apply information and technology literacy skills through content-driven multi-disciplinary instruction. The school library media specialist works with the school community in the following roles:
- Teacher who is knowledgeable about current research on teaching and learning, information science, and instructional technologies. The library media specialist is skilled in applying this knowledge to a variety of situations that challenge students to access, evaluate, and use information from multiple sources in order to learn, to think, and to create knowledge.
- Instructional Partner who collaboratively plans with teachers and others to integrate information and technology indicators with curricular content, learning outcomes, student information needs, and resources.
- Information Specialist who works in an environment that has been profoundly affected by technology, the library media specialist both masters sophisticated electronic resources and maintains a constant focus on the nature, quality, and ethical uses of information available in these and in more traditional tools.
- Program Administrator who advocates for the library media program and provides the knowledge, vision, and leadership to steer it creatively and energetically in the 21st century.